The present invention relates to systems for transcribing voice communications into text and specifically to a system facilitating real-time editing of a transcribed text stream by a human call assistant for higher accuracy.
A system for real-time transcription of remotely spoken voice signals is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,909,482 assigned to the same assignee as the present invention and hereby incorporated by reference. This system may find use implementing both a “captel” (caption telephone) in which a user receives both voice and transcribed text through a “relay” from a remote second party to a conversation, and a “personal interpreter” in which a user receives, through the relay, a text transcription of words originating from a second party at the location of the user.
In either case, a human “call assistant” at the relay listens to the voice signal and “revoices” the words to a speech recognition computer program tuned to that call assistant's voice. Revoicing is an operation in which the call assistant repeats, in slightly delayed fashion, the words she or he hears. The text output by the speech recognition system is then transmitted to the captel or personal interpreter. Revoicing by the call assistant overcomes a current limitation of computer speech recognition programs that they currently need to be trained to a particular speaker and thus, cannot currently handle direct translation of speech from a variety of users.
Even with revoicing and a trained call assistant, some transcription errors may occur, and therefore, the above-referenced patent also discloses an editing system in which the transcribed text is displayed on a computer screen for review by the call assistant.